GIVING BACK

involved in CAP’s cadet program.
“I saw a brochure at an air
show,” said Brown, who was homeschooled
at the time. “I thought it
would be exciting to be involved in
something new.”
A phone call to the local
squadron commander sparked further
interest, especially when she
found out the cadets wore uniforms.
“I was hooked,” she said.
Brown still likes to wear her
CAP cadet uniform, and is looking
forward to wearing the cadet blue of
the Air Force Academy.
“You can just tell (people)
respect you,” Brown said of wearing
her uniform.
Brown is not the first in the
family to wear a uniform. Her
father, Derek, spent four years in
the Army after being involved in the
ROTC program in college.
“We’re proud of how Emily has
had a goal and has spent years
preparing to achieve it,” said Derek
Brown. “She exercises every day, is
diligent in her academics and has
shown great leadership in her Civil
Air Patrol activities.”
Brown’s mother, Kathy, said,
“We’ve always encouraged Emily to
aim high and feel she is ready to
meet the challenges ahead.”
Brown’s community involvement
projects include helping her grandfather,
Thomas Brown, during the
summer in Kentucky. He collects
soda cans and recycles them. The
money he gets for the cans benefits
Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit,
ecumenical Christian organization
building affordable housing for people
in need.
Brown also spent part of this past
holiday season helping pack shoe
boxes with gifts for underprivileged
children in other parts of the world.
“But a lot of what I do in the
community is involved in CAP,”
said Brown.
Her list of accomplishments is
impressive. “Emily has been a role
model for the community and for
CAP,” said 1st Lt. Roger Jaquette,
Tennessee Wing’s public affairs officer.
Brown has served as cadet commander
of her squadron, which is
based in Dayton, Tenn., for the past
two years. Her cadet group is small
(averaging about five to seven
cadets), but it is a high-achieving
squadron. “We focus on quality, not
quantity,” Brown said. “I have the
best bunch of cadets. They’re always
motivated.”
Her squadron has participated in
national activities for the past three
summers. Also, last summer, she got
to explore Japan as a participant in
the International Air Cadet
Exchange program.
IACE is a program in which
cadets visit other countries in the
spirit of international good will.
This “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity”
took Brown to the Land of the
Rising Sun with four other CAP
cadets from America.
“We toured Japan for three
weeks,” she said. “It was just a great,
great time.” ▲
CADET BROWN’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• Received pilot’s wings from former Tennessee Wing Group II
Commander Lt. Col. Bill Lord in September 2006.
• Attended four Tennessee Wing encampments (two as a staff member).
Has held the positions of flight commander and squadron
commander.
• Served as cadet commander of her squadron for the past two
years.
• Attended four national cadet special activities (Aerospace
Education Academy, National Emergency Services Academy, Air
Education and Training Command Familiarization Course and
two National Flight academies, one as staff).
• Attended two Tennessee Wing Cadet Leadership schools (one as a
seminar leader).
• Has been a member of three Tennessee Wing drill teams.
• Traveled to Japan in July 2006 as a member of the International
Air Cadet Exchange.
• Selected as Tennessee Wing Cadet of the Year for 2004-’05.
• Earned a flight scholarship worth $2,500 to pay for flying lessons.
• Earned both the Mitchell and Earhart awards, and is currently a
cadet major.
U. S. Civil Air Patrol Volunteer 43 July-August 2007